Neural colloid

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A neural colloid, commonly referred to as simply a colloid and sometimes with the portmanteau neuroid, is a class of human-implantable multielectrode array (MEA) primarily designed to wirelessly read and stimulate neural activity in the brain.

First designed in 2015 as an implantable polymer mesh studded with electrodes to sample individual neurons and treat neurological disorders, colloids in their current form were developed by Sanial and entered widespread use with the international adoption of G6 in 2041.

While many medical, commercial, and military colloids have been developed, the most common is the line of colloids in use by G6 for the purposes of neurometric identification and the diagnosis of Cariappa-Muren disease (CMD).

The role of colloids in society continues to be a contentious issue in global politics, and has raised ongoing discussions by consumer and human rights organisations, governments, corporations, and religious groups.

HistoryPermalink

The development of neural colloid technology was enabled by several key advances in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and implantable medical devices (IMDs). ^[1] Its first iteration was devised in 2015 by a team of physicists, neuroscientists, and chemists at Harvard University working on brain-injectable electronics. Using a syringe-implanted macroporous mesh of conductive polymer threads with electrodes at their intersections, the team was able to both monitor and stimulate activity from a large number of individual neurons in the brains of mice. ^[2]

In the early 2020s, a research group at UC Berkeley led by Yang Peidong further refined the implant design by introducing the use of short-range visible light to network the electrodes together in the brain, as well as a wireless method of data transmission using high-frequency radio telemetry. These advances eliminated the need for a conductive mesh or a physical BCI connection that leads outside of the cranium, resulting in a more flexible multielectrode array (MEA) configuration with increased spatiotemporal resolution and a higher signal-to-noise ratio.

SanialPermalink

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Colloids in their modern form were developed by Sanial, which was founded in 2027 by Spencer Hagen, previously a member of the UC Berkeley research group. In 2030, a breakthrough in AlphaFold-enabled protein targeting led Sanial to devise an electrode implanting method that did not involve a needle injected into the target region of the brain.

By coating the electrodes in synthesised proteins so they bind to relevant tissue and suspending them in a colloid, they would migrate to specified parts of the brain via the circulatory system after intramuscular injection. ^[3] Additionally, the protein coatings allowed for the electrodes to persist within the body for an entire lifetime without the need for bulk enclosures or anti-inflammatory regimens.

Subsequent trials in animal models relevant for human translation indicated that Sanial’s implantable MEAs revealed rich neural data hidden by traditional approaches such as extracranial electroencephalography (EEG) and conventional electrocorticography (ECoG).

ZhupaoPermalink

In 2032, Sanial joined Zhupao Campus and began human trials for its neural colloid MEAs, so named for the implant’s administration method. The trials drew widespread media attention due to the involvement of Efrim Waite, who had volunteered to be the first human subject of a colloid implant and livestreamed the process on August 1st 2032, with Hagen personally administering the colloid. This led to an influx of requests from Waite’s fans to sign up to Sanial’s human trials, which drew ire from the medical community as colloids were still the subject of biocompatibility tests in animals at the time.

In 2034, Zhupao was faced with calls to pull its support of Sanial after it was reported that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Huawei had been testing early designs of implantable MEAs on detainees in the Xinjiang concentration camps. This had resulted in numerous cases of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in the camps, which initially went unnoticed due to similar medical and psychiatric issues arising from the mistreatment of detainees. In a joint statement with Hagen, Xu Shaoyong claimed that Sanial had no involvement with the CCP’s activities in the camps, stating that Sanial only worked with consenting volunteers for their trials with colloids.

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In 2036, Sanial was incorporated as a subsidiary of Zhupao, which officially unveiled colloids as a new class of implantable MEAs and “the biggest paradigm shift in consumer technology since smartphones.” ^[4] On October 25th 2036, Xu personally injected a colloid while on stage and pinged a live connection to his cerebral cortex, claiming that the audience was “witnessing [his] consciousness down to the level of individual neurons.” Xu also praised the advancements in neurotechnology and “the fundamental understanding of the human mind” that colloids had enabled, and congratulated Hagen for “the democratising of brain augmentation.”

In May 2037, Sanial’s colloid design was reclassified by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) as a Class III IMD, designating colloids “high-risk IMDs that pose potential risks to the human body and must be strictly controlled with respect to safety and effectiveness.” This unexpected ruling, which was attributed to frictions between Zhupao and the CCP, prompted international regulatory agencies to follow the SAMR’s lead and adjust or suspend their pending IMD approvals of colloids. ^[5]

After being forced to cancel several contracts, Zhupao launched a series of marketing campaigns and academic programmes to underscore the benefits of colloids, including a partnership with the Environmental History Experiment (EHE) in September 2037 to administer a colloid to 6b. ^[6] The response to the EHE led to concerns over ethical issues regarding the permanence of colloid implants as well as the relative ease of their injection, which can be performed without the knowledge and consent of the recipient.

In 2038, colloid technology was approved by the Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD) as a Class II IMD posing “intermediate risk,” allowing Zhupao to partner with select physicians and hospitals across Canada to apply colloids to the neurostimulative diagnosis and treatment of various neurological disorders. ^[7] Following the shutdown of Neuralink in the United States (US), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expedited its approval process for colloids in November 2039.

Mass adoptionPermalink

On December 8th 2039, Xu announced an agreement between Zhupao and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to manufacture and supply diagnostic colloids for the WHO’s contact tracing efforts to contain the spread of Cariappa-Muren disease (CMD). ^[8] In the press briefing, Xu credited Hagen with spearheading the development of the diagnostic colloids, which were equipped with chemical nanosensors to detect CMD-related breakdown products in brain tissue. ^[9]

In September 2040, Zhupao revealed a new line of colloids that were being administered in Canada and China as part of a series of G6 pilot programmes. On September 23rd 2040, Xu injected one of the colloids himself and explained that their individual electrodes contained the necessary hardware to support both CMD-specific sensors and a means of neurometric identification based on the CEREBRE protocol. ^[10]

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In March and April 2041, the WHO organised several working groups with Zhupao and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to outline the terms of a WHO charter for the international use of G6, including the parameters of the network’s deployment of colloids. Critics have alleged that the WHO charter “exists only for Zhupao to circumvent all existing regulations and enforcements on neural data and privacy.” In April 2041, Zhupao presented a “baseline, opt-in” licensing tier for the implementation of G6, with the stipulation that the network’s colloids may not be exploited for any purpose other than health informatics and biosurveillance.

Zhupao’s rollout of colloids was delayed in June 2041 due to the impact of Typhoon 4109, which destroyed Sanial’s main production facility in Borneo. This severely limited the company’s manufacturing capacity until the fall of 2041, when construction on eight new facilities outside Colombo, Sri Lanka was completed. ^[11]

In August 2045, the Russian government launched a criminal investigation into Pokrov after the arrest of Zhupao senior executive Deng Bowen on charges of corporate espionage, with accusations that Deng had facilitated a Pokrov operation to illegally reverse engineer colloid technology. This was followed by additional civil suits filed by Zhupao, alleging that Pokrov had been developing and selling collocidals since 2042. In a public statement, Yuri Golitsyn denied any wrongdoing and condemned Zhupao for “deliberately misrepresenting the long-term risks of colloid implants.”

In 2047, a rise in cases of CSVD in countries subscribed to G6 was linked to colloids, with every recorded patient having at least one colloid implant. In November 2047, Hagen attributed the surge in CSVD to third-party colloid manufacturers without a license to Sanial’s nanomaterials, which led to some criticism of Zhupao’s patent enforcement on colloid technology. The increasing incidence of blankouts, which have been linked to colloid implants, has caused further scrutiny of Zhupao and its deployment of colloids as “an opaque box in everyone’s brains.” ^[12]

As of 2049, approximately 72% of the world population is implanted with at least one colloid, with the G6 colloid representing over 65% of all implanted colloids.

ApplicationsPermalink

Neurometric identificationPermalink

When pinged by an external reader, a neurometric colloid produces a montage, which can be analysed for individually unique patterns and verified against a stored montage that was recorded during the colloid’s calibration. ^[10] Sanial describes this as a “multifactor authentication process, where a biometric or other initial factor serves as a user name, and the neurometric ping represents the password.” A montage is impossible to fake due to the inherent rhythmic variances in EEG readouts between pings, rendering a replay attack with a static montage useless because it is easily detected as too perfect a match.

Neurometric colloids have been criticised for “wholly divorcing neurometrics from the tactile element of biometrics” and paving the way for indiscriminate mass surveillance methods that allow neurometric readers to ping all colloids within their effective radius and determine the identity of each implanted individual. In this respect, colloids have been equated with the rise of neurocarceral policies. ^[13]

ControversyPermalink

NeurosurveillancePermalink

Zhupao has faced criticism from human rights organisations for enabling the use of colloids as a tool for neurosurveillance and brainjacking. ^[14] [15] In 2044, an investigation crowdsourced by Five of Swords (FoS) uncovered that South Korea’s membership of G6 was being used for unapproved neurostimulation in its citizens, with the purpose of discouraging any interest in travel or conscious efforts to leave the country. ^[16] In 2045, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Amazon and other US companies of using colloids for workplace surveillance, behavioural modification, and loyalty tests. ^[17]

In his influential essay The Neurometric Panopticon, Cory Doctorow echoed his previous comments on Zhupao’s deployment of neurometric colloids and claimed that “a G6 colloid, any colloid really, is more versatile than Zhupao would have you believe, and lends itself rather well to out-of-the-box surveillance applications hidden behind Sanial’s complex web of patents, licenses, and non-disclosure agreements.” ^[13]

See alsoPermalink

• G6
• Sanial
• Zhupao

ReferencesPermalink